


Just the Wind

by LetterstoAthens



Category: Neko no Ongaeshi | The Cat Returns
Genre: AU, Badass Haru, Drama llama baron, F/M, Gen, Human Baron Humbert von Gikkingen, Human Baron because thats how I draw him in all of my TCR AU's, My First Work in This Fandom, Secret Santa 2020 gift, Space Pirates, Treasure Planet AU, and If I can get the chance to draw/write my red-headed and freckled Baron I will take it, babies first fanfic, but this is a short fic and it doesnt go super into detail so picture them however you want I guess?, he’s such a dork and he’s dead over heels and can only deal with it by doing dramatic things, sadly we won’t get to see too much action in this fic but we get buckets of cuteness, this year was a doozy but I hope this gives people a smile
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:14:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28496649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LetterstoAthens/pseuds/LetterstoAthens
Summary: Captain Haru Yoshioka of the Spring Wind has had her head up in the clouds for a while now, and Baron is driving himself crazy trying to figure out why.Before he could scheme up some way to figure out what has his Captain so preoccupied, Haru asks him a question."Could you teach me how to fly?"
Relationships: Baron Humbert von Gikkingen/Yoshioka Haru
Comments: 6
Kudos: 9





	Just the Wind

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rowena_Bensel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rowena_Bensel/gifts).



> Here we go!! This is a Secret Santa gift for Ro- i'm sorry its so late, and thank you for being patient with me as I slowly worked to get this done. 
> 
> I can't seem to say no to pirate AU's, so this is a little one-shot to go with your fic Sea of Stars. I hope you like it!!

The Captain was quiet today.

The Captain had been quiet for the last few of days, actually, which was odd. Not to say that she was the kind of person who couldn’t have thoughtful moments, or enjoy the silence of the nova at night; But the pensive air that hung about her was just…..odd.

Normally in between shouting orders to her crew over the roar of the winds, and going over star charts with Toto the Sailing Master, Haru would go about the deck of the _Spring Wind_ to check in with everyone. This personal- dare he say _friendly_ \- approach to captaining a pirate ship seemed strange to the novice star-traveller, but by watching the rest of the crew it didn’t feel that way for long. There were many things that caught Baron off guard since boarding this particular ship all those months ago, and the small and energetic captain was at the centre of them all.

Captain Haru Yoshioka was the antithesis for everything he had ever known about pirates, but also everything he dreamed an adventurer would be. She had challenged and re-defined his understanding of many things during his interstellar treasure hunt. Needless to say Baron had quickly come to look forward to the moments when his Captain would drop in beside him armed with tea and conversation (sometimes literally- swooping down from above and giving him a heart attack). But lately his Captain’s attention was out in the sky- her gaze lingering on the clouds streaming by. This morning had marked the 7th day in a row where _Spring Wind’s_ Captain was stuck up in the clouds, and Baron was puzzling over what he could possibly do about it.

Should he pass by the Captains Quarters; offer to translate some of the old texts they had just unearthed for her, and casually offer a listening ear while doing so? Bring some tea to the Crow’s Nest where he knew she liked to sneak up to in the early hours? These all felt a little too presumptuous to Baron. Who was he to intrude upon her while she worked, or in her private time? He had the thought of bringing in some of the crew to help investigate what was causing their Captain to be so preoccupied, but that thought was shoved out by the desire to solve this by himself. But what proof did he have that there was an actual problem to solve? No one else seemed bothered by the sudden absence of their Captain. Muta didn’t even feign concern when Baron brought up how Haru hadn’t dropped by for tea in _days_ , just raised an eyebrow and continued to chop up the spices for the crew’s dinner.

Baron was going to wear a hole into the ships deck with the rate he paced over this, so with nothing else to do he grabbed his glider and took to the skies. Maybe a small part of him thought that by soaring through the clouds that Haru was so captivated by lately, he could get an idea of what was on her mind; but really he just needed to lose himself for a few moments in the air. Some of his best ideas came after he cleared his head in the skies, so surely today would be no different.

Circling once around the Crow’s Nest and giving a quick wave to his crew mates who called out bellow, he tightened his grip on the worn handlebar, widened his stance and stomped on the ignition- shooting straight up into the sky until clouds obscured his view, and the only sound was the wind in his ears. Pressing harder on the ignition, and adjusting his sails to gain even more speed, Baron squinted against the wind and water that now blew into his eyes. Faster and faster, higher and higher, the cold was almost becoming too much for him when he finally broke through to sun and open skies. Shaking out the now-melting ice from his hair, he let out a shout as he zoomed across the sky. Twirling around clouds, then diving and weaving at breakneck speeds, Baron felt the familiar rush of adrenaline and excitement that came with every flight on his glider. There truly was no other feeling like this. Coming out of another dive, he levelled out his glider and looked bellow for his ship. After a couple of moments he found it, and if he squinted, he could pick out the form of his Captain- a solitary dot of blue walking along the side of the ship. Without even having to think about it, Baron adjusted his sails and swooped his way down to her, pulling up alongside the _Spring Wind_ with one last twirl and easing up on the engine so he could coast beside his Captain, who’s eyes were now finally focused on him.

He was probably a bit of a mess; jacket half-tucked into his breeches and his curls even more wind-swept than normal, but Baron couldn’t bring himself to care at that moment, and just beamed at Haru.

“Good morning Captain! You're doing well I hope??”

He felt a little silly yelling this; the first time in a week that he properly gets to talk to her, and he starts with such a generic line? He kept his smile on though, thinking there was nothing for it and waited for a response. Haru’s eyes were wide from the admittedly flashy entrance, seemingly taken off guard for a moment, but now she just shook her head and smiled in return, murmuring something under her breath he couldn’t catch. Baron could see that there was still that pensive air about her- a question in her eyes- but before he could think of how to ask about that, Haru spoke.

“Could you teach me how to fly?”

There was a beat of silence. Haru looked a little sheepish, and Baron just blinked once as he processed her request- taking a moment to make sure that was actually what he heard, and not some mistake from the wind.

“ _Fly_? You mean you want to use a glider?”

She nodded “I’ve been wondering what it’s like to fly out there. You always look so… free.”

Her cheeks were a light pink now, but her eyes were steady, and she gripped the rail of the ship to lean closer; Baron had to force himself to focus on responding to his Captain and not stare too deeply into her brown eyes.

“Amazing” he stuttered for a moment before trying again “ _Flying_ \- _flying_ is amazing. Yes of course I will teach you. It’ll be my pleasure Captain.”

———————————————————

She was dazzling. Streaking through the sky like a comet, Baron couldn’t take his eyes off of her, even if he wanted to.

“ _Your amazing_.”

Coasting alongside the ship, Haru cocked her head before shouting to be heard over the wind currents

“Did you say something Baron?? Speak up!”

The words had slipped out before he could notice that he actually spoke them out loud, and he could feel his cheeks start to burn as he scrambled for a response, doing his best to ignore the sound of Muta snickering beside him.

Some of the crew bellow deck had heard of their Captain starting to earn her wings, and soon a small crowd had formed, offering both jests and cheers of encouragement. Haru took the addition of an audience in stride, paying them no mind as Baron walked her through the different parts of the glider and how to mount it once it was off the ground. Baron, on the other hand, suddenly felt shy- very aware of how close he would stand as he leaned over to point to a certain part of the engine, or slightly adjust an arm or elbow to even out his Captains stance. He was amazed that his face wasn’t as red as his hair by the end of his lesson- the smirks he could see on Muta and Toto’s faces almost always at the corner of his eye- and he thanked the stars that Haru was a quick study in flight. A little wobbly at times, but they had time to work on that.

“I said your doing amazing! Keep your weight balanced just like that!!”

He kept his eyes locked onto his Captain as she nodded, adjusted her sails and soared above him, and if anyone asked about the redness of his complexion, he would say it was just the wind.


End file.
